Guide: Work and Safety Shoes.

Tips when choosing work shoes

We spend many hours at our workplaces and regardless of whether you have a job where you stand and walk a lot, or a profession that requires your feet to be protected, the choice of the right shoe is important. We have listed some tips that may be useful along the way.

• Size matters: Too small a size of your work shoe can cause problems such as blisters and corns, among other things. If the shoe is too big, it is not only easier to trip and fall, it can also make the foot slide around the shoe and you get blisters from the sliding.

• Ventilation: Your feet feel good when they are able to breathe. If your work environment allows you to wear sandals or slippers, this is something that can make your feet happy.

• Ventilate or change: Some sweat less, others sweat more. It may be good to make a habit of ventilating the soles between the work pass or switching between different shoes.

• Socks: Compression socks are good for keeping good blood circulation in the feet and legs. The also reduce the risk of swelling.

• Extra support: If you have problems with your feet, you may need to support and facilitate with pads, arch support, insoles, or soles specially made to absorb ample foot sweat.

TYPES OF WORK SHOES AND PROTECTION CLASSES

Safety shoes are used to protect the user against hazards and the risk that may arise when woriking in different enviroments. Different types of safety shoes have different protective properties and they must be clearly labeled so that it is easy to understand what risks the shoe protects the user against.

There are three categories of safety shoes that are based on the protective properties of the shoes. They are:

• Safety footwear for professional use (EN 345) = A sturdy safety shoe that has a protective toe cap that can withstand pressure up to 200 J. This type of safety shoe are available in several different classes. If they meet the basic requirements (toe cap and slip resistant), they are marked with SB. If they also protect against other types of risks, they are marked with S1 - S5, depending on the risks they protect against.

Below you will see a table where we present what the different protection classes have for properties.

• Protective footwear for professional use (EN 346) = Work shoes with a protective toe cap that has been tested to withstand a load of 100 J. If they meet the basic requirements, protective shoes are marked with PB. If they also protect against other risks, it is marked with P1 - P5 depending on the risks they protect against.

• Occupational footwear for professional use (EN 347) = Occupational footwear for professional use do not have a protective toe cap, but still provide protection against various types of risks. This type of shoe is marked with O if they meet the basic requirements. If they also protect against other risks, it is marked with O1 - O5 depending on the risks they protect against.

PROTECTION CLASSES FOR SAFETY SHOES	SB	S1	S1P	S2	S3	S4	S5
Toe cap (200J / 15000N)
Closed heel area
Antistatic properties (0,1 - 1000MΩ) A
Energy absorption in the heel area (20J) E
Water-Resistance - WRU
Profiled outer sole
Puncture resistant sole (1100N) P
Completely in rubber / PU

Author: Tingstad

Last Updated: 2023-12-08